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Everything Begins Chapter 29
Thrust and parry, strike and block, spin and step and dance. The fight continued for several minutes, and then Frank managed to make contact. The point of his sword barely scratched Kardag’s upper arm, but the Daitya let out a sharp hiss, once more reminding Frank of a serpent. Blood welled up on the pale skin revealed through the cut robes, but the blood was not red; it was black.“You will pay for that, boy! Enough playing around. It is time for you to die!”Kardag’s strikes abruptly increased in speed and accuracy, and Frank was forced backward toward the center of the room as his sword flashed in the candlelight. It was exactly where he did not want to go, but he had no choice. Kardag’s attack was designed to steer him in that direction, and he had no chance to go elsewhere. The strikes were coming too fast.His right foot collided with one of the unconscious villagers, and he stumbled briefly before regaining his balance. It was enough, however, and the pain that filled him when
Everything Begins Chapter 30
"Bride of a troll!” he muttered as he stuck his finger in his mouth, tasting ash mixed with blood. “Nothing like a sliced finger to start the day off right.” He picked up the sword and walked toward the door, breathing easier when he made it outside. When he got back to the room, neither Tero nor Sophyra had moved, and he carefully cleaned the sword, although there did not seem to be any blood on it, only a light dusting of dark gray ash, and slid it into its scabbard on Ga’briyel’s hip. As he did so, he pulled on the coat covering Ga’briyel’s chest, and it fell to the floor.“Tero, look!”The two men gaped at what they saw. The wound was already starting to heal. Before their eyes, the rotting flesh grew pink and healthy, and the gaping cut slowly came together, starting at both ends and moving toward the middle.“Yisu be praised,” Tero whispered, and then he spoke louder. “Sophyra, wake up! You have to see this!”Her head snapped up, and she looked around the room in confusion. Dint
Everything Begins Chapter 31
"I can tell him what?” Frank asked as he held a chair for Sophyra. She sat down with a small smile on her face, and he took the chair next to her.“What your abilities allow you to do,” Dinton said as he pushed the platter of food toward his friend.“Why do you ask, innkeeper?”Frank waited until Sophyra had filled her plate, and then he pushed his own plate aside and pulled the platter to himself.“I hope you two got as much as you wanted, because this will be gone shortly.”“Oh, do not worry about us, my friend,” Tero chuckled. “We are fine.”“Good. So, Hearda, what do you want to know?”The man was looking at everything in the room except Ga’briyel. “I just thought…”“Thought what? Speak, man.”“I thought that you being what you are, good captain, that perhaps you might possibly be able to rid us of our problem across the way.”“What I am? And what is that?”“An Anmah, good sir. The stories say that Anmah can do wondrous things.”Between bites, Frank said, “Well, I do not know abou
Everything Begins Chapter 32
"Sophyra,” he said softly, “please come here.”Her head came up, and he saw tears in her eyes. He caught his breath and swiftly covered the few paces between them. He took her satchel from her and dropped it to the ground before enfolding her in his arms.“I am sorry, my heart,” he said. “I did not mean to yell at you.”She took a shuddering breath, and he held her tighter.“Do you mean that?” she asked timidly.“What?”She leaned back and gazed up at him. “You call me your heart. Do you mean it?”He pushed her bangs off her forehead and smiled. “I do.” He kissed her softly. “I think I love you.”“You think?”He chuckled at the sarcasm. “Yes, I think. I have never been in love before, so I am not sure, but I feel that if you left, my life would have no meaning anymore. You have become my reason for existing, Sophyra. You are my heart.”She sighed, “That is very nice to hear, Ga’briyel.” Her eyes sparkled. “I know that I love you. When I thought you were dead, I wanted to die, too. If
Everything Begins Chapter 33
Two nights later, the four riders sat their horses on the top of a rise overlooking a verdant valley in which was centered a medium-sized town nearly a hundred and fifty leagues northeast of Difeld. From their vantage point, they could see a hundred or so buildings positioned in concentric circles around a town square. The roofs of the buildings of Grama were all red slate tiles, and most of the buildings looked to be made of wood. A few were built with stone, but not many. About three quarters of the buildings were small enough to be personal homes, but the rest seemed to be businesses or official buildings. The homes were situated in the outermost circles with the larger buildings within a lane or two of the square. From their vantage point, Frank could only see one building that was more than a story tall, and it filled almost the entire east side of the square. Cobblestone streets ran between the circles with one broad road cutting them in two, running east and west. Around the to
Everything Begins Chapter 34
“Will you be content then, Frank?”He sighed and ran his intact hand through his hair. When he looked at her again, his eyes had dimmed somewhat. “I do not know,” he said slowly. “Will that be enough? What about all those boys who are not yet thirteen? They have been training to kill for years. Do I kill every male over the age of five? Ten? What of the women and girls and slaves then? Who will take care of them? What will happen to them when their protectors are dead? Will others come and take their revenge on them? Will they starve? Can they fend for themselves? Will I condemn them to a life of Hell if I kill their men? Could I live with myself if I did that?”Sophyra scooted closer to him and took his face in her hands. “They are in Hell now, Frank, believe me, and they can take care of themselves. The men do nothing as far as the home is concerned. They only fight and kill and hurt others. That is what they do from the time they are very young.”“So how young is too old to live? C
Everything Begins Chapter 35
“An Asabya slave,” the Debaduta responded just as softly. “He managed to run away from the town, but he is being followed by four men, and they will be here shortly. They will kill him for running away. You must protect him! He is needed!”The last three words were said emphatically, and Frank looked at the Debadutta, surprised to see the spirit’s eyes blazing almost as brightly as his own.“Needed for what?”“For…” the Debaduta said, and then his head snapped up as he gazed upstream. “They are coming.” He slipped behind a large gacha. “I cannot help you. You must protect him yourself.”Frank sensed the evil in the men coming toward them, and he snarled as he covered the distance between himself and the boy in a few strides. The boy jumped to his feet at his approach, crouched to flee, but Frank held out an open hand.“Do not be afraid,” he said quietly. “I will not let them hurt you. Get behind me and stay hidden.”The boy’s eyes went wide, but he immediately did as Frank bid. He scu
Everything Begins Chapter 36
The spirit had not released the boy’s shoulder, and he tightened his grip as they walked. “He must live, Anmah. He will play an important part in what is going to happen.”“How old is he?”“Fifteen.”Frank turned to the Debadutta. “He looks like he is twelve. Or younger, even.”The spirit shrugged. “The Asabya do not care much about feeding their slaves what they need to grow. You will find that most of them are smaller than you expect.”"Sophyra’s not.”“Ah, but she was trained for a very specific purpose. It would not do for her to die of starvation before she could serve that purpose.”Frank snarled and looked down at the boy.“He is brave, Frank, and he will be a strong warrior when he is older, but you must train him.” The spirit spoke without looking at either of them.“Why me?”“There is no one else, and it was destined to be,” Debaduta said simply. “If you had not decided to leave your camp, you would not have been here to save him, and he would have died. That would have been
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- Everything Begins
Chapter 123
"I am fine, Frank, but I am very hungry." She smiled up at him. "Just like you always are."He frowned and ran his hand over her hair. "Not always, Sophyra. Not after the Dirack." He took her hand and led her out of the room, shutting the door behind them to let his son sleep. They went down to the main room, and Frank eyes went wide when he saw Telantes sitting at the bar talking with Luija."Telantes, my friend. Why are you here?" Frank kept his arm around his wife but walked up to the Debaduta and clasped his forearm."I am here to tell you where you are to go next, Frank."With a skeptical look, Frank eyed his friend and tightened his grip. "Why did Yisu not just tell me Himself like before? Why are you really here?"Grinning sheepishly, Telantes released the Sainika's forearm. "That is one reason, Ga'briyel. I cannot lie; you know this. But there is a second reason. You and your family..." The spirit looked at Sophyra. "I hear congratulations are in order again, Sophyra. Another
- Everything Begins
Chapter 122
"He is dead!" he announced, and the soldiers carried him into the same room as his supposed victim and laid him on the floor. Captain Panakari followed them, shooed them out of the room, and shut the door. "You can get up now, Captain Mistri." Frank opened his eyes, took his sword belt from the other captain, and stretched with a smile before strapping it around his waist. "There is a back way out of this room, Captain, but you must make your way to your inn on your own. Try not to let anyone see you, or they will know I lied, and then I will find myself in the noose."Frank held out his hand, and the other clasped his forearm firmly. "Thank you, Captain. I appreciate everything you have done for me tonight. Please know that everything I did was for the good of your people. They may not understand that, but it was. My family and I will be gone in the morning." He followed Captain Panakari to the door in the back of the room, and after it was unlocked, slipped out into the darkness of
- Everything Begins
Chapter 121
"Benefits of being friends with a Debaduta, daemon!" Then Frank stopped talking, swung his sword, and began the deadliest dance known to man with the daemon in front of him. Dolsaya's eyes went wide, and he tried to flee, but Frank was too quick, and soon the daemon was backed up against his storefront. With a single swipe, Frank removed the daemon's head from his shoulders, and with several others, dismembered it. Then he turned to the daemon behind him and resumed the dance. It seemed as if it only took a few minutes before Kaysaya's head was rolling along the middle of the street, caught in a rut formed by hundreds of carriage wheels, but when Frank had hacked the third daemon to pieces, he realized that it was dark, his muscles ached, and he stank like rubbish that had been sitting in the summer sun for a moon. He looked around and was surprised to see several people standing on the wooden walkways watching him. Most had torches, and he walked to one, grabbed his torch, and applie
- Everything Begins
Chapter 120
Adama grinned and slid out of their bed. He went to the chest of drawers and pulled out a white linen shirt, black breeches, and a red coat. He dressed himself quickly, and then looked at his parents expectantly. "Come, Baba," he said, excitement flowing from him and covering Ga'briyel, as he held out his tiny hand to his father.With a smile, Frank stood, held out his hand to Sophyra, who took it and joined him, and then took his son's hand in his. They went to the main room where Luija already had first meal on the table. The Debaduta was standing by their table, a worried look on his face."Are you sure about this, Ga'briyel? It will be dangerous at the docks. Two of the daemons have shops there, after all.""How did you know?" Sophyra asked him. Luija just looked at her, and she nodded. "Yisu told you, yes?""Of course He did, and I do not think this is a wise move to make, Sainika. The daemons will be waiting for you to bring your family out of the inn. I have a very bad feeling
- Everything Begins
Chapter 119
“Nor should you, my child.” Frank looked at his son, forced his eyes to dim, and smiled. He sat down next to Sophyra on the bench she had chosen, pulled her close, and kissed her softly. “Later, my heart.” He groaned softly when her heat almost smothered him. “Please, Sophyra, stop. Not now.”She rested her hand on his thigh and began to trace small circles on it. “I will try, my love, but it will be difficult knowing what you have planned for later.” She smiled coyly at him as Luija entered the room with a platter full of food. He set it on the table, smiled at Ga’briyel, and spoke softly.“I would love to speak with your son later on, Sainika. I think we could speak together for several hours. You and your wife could retire early to your room, I think, if you would like that.”Grinning and letting his eyes flare once, Frank answered, “I would like that very much, Luija, thank you. I was going to ask you if you would watch him for a while.”“Watch him? There would be no watching, Ga’
- Everything Begins
Chapter 118
“It is, but they know you are here, and they will block your ability to sense them. I will do my best to help you find them, but I am at risk if I leave this building, as well. I do not wish to be banished, and so I generally stay here. They know of me, of course, but there is nothing they can do about it.” Luija came around the bar, gestured over his shoulder, and walked toward the hallway that led off to the right of the main room. “I assume you would prefer a ground-level room, Sainika?”Frank did not move. “Why would you assume that, Debaduta?”The man smiled as he turned to face his newest boarders. “Stairs can slow you down if you need to leave the inn quickly, Sainika.”“Nevertheless, I would prefer a room above ground. Stairs may slow me down a bit, but I do not want anyone to be able to reach our room while we sleep. I will not risk my family like that, Luija. They are my life, and if I lose them, I cannot be responsible for what will happen.”Luija frowned at that last state
- Everything Begins
Chapter 117
There were several villages through which they rode where Frank and Sophyra were given distasteful glares when adults saw the tiny boy riding alone on the large bay, but while Sophyra took each look to heart, Frank ignored them completely. He could not ignore Adama’s innocent question the first time it happened, however.“Baba, why is everyone so angry?”“What do you mean, my son?”“When we enter a town, people stare at me as if they are angry.”Frank smiled. “They are not used to seeing such a small boy riding alone without support. They do not understand that you are not like other boys, Adama, and they disapprove of what they do not understand.”“I could make them understand, Baba. May I try, please?”With a shrug, Frank acquiesced. “You may try, Adama, but I do not believe you will have much success.”They had stopped at the first inn they had come to, having been in the saddle and sleeping on the ground for the past four days and nights, and Frank dropped from his saddle, helped
- Everything Begins
Chapter 116
"A fool am I?" Frank snarled. "And what is it that makes me a fool, Daitya?"The man laughed. "Anyone is a fool who tries to fight Sayatan and his sons."Ga'bryel grinned, but if a human had seen that grin, they would have screamed. "And yet I have killed three of his sons already, Daitya. Dismembered, they are rotting away as we speak, never to come together again. Soon they will be only bones." He shrugged as if it mattered not a bit to him. "I assume their souls are gone as well. That is what Telantes told me."At the name of the Debaduta, every Daitya recoiled. "That interfering spirit!" the spokesman said with a snarl. "He has been far too involved in your life, Sainika. Sayatan will deal with him in time. We may be able to banish him for a year or so, but Sayatan can destroy him as easily as you can destroy us.""Speaking of," Frank said, taking a step closer to the Daitya and readying his sword, "I am going to destroy you all right now.""You would fight unarmed men?""You are
- Everything Begins
Chapter 115
Unknown to the kosmar, Frank was fighting her in his mind. When she stripped him and herself bare, he battled with the vision of her and forced himself not to react. Devina noticed this and growled softly. She tried everything she could to stimulate the Anmah, but he struggled through it all and kept Sophyra in the forefront of his mind. With his wife's face emblazoned on his subconsciousness, he was able to resist everything Devina did to him. She became more and more frustrated as time went on, and then Frank slowly became aware of a voice in his mind.Baba! Wake up! Fight her, Baba!At that, Frank opened his eyes, and Devina jerked away from him. When he slowly stood, she backpedaled until she was against the door of the room. "How?" she asked softly."My family," Frank said quietly. "They protect me. Even from myself sometimes." He walked toward the kosmar until his sword's tip was at her throat, and then he grinned without humor. Devina's eyes went wide, and she raised her hands
